Pages

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

What Constitutes Acceptable PDA (Public Display of Art)?

Crystal Barbre's mural beside Deja Vu (photo by Scott Moore)

Well-known Seattle artist Crystal Barbre was commissioned to
create a classical-style mural in oil paint beside Deja Vu on 1st Ave in
Downtown Seattle. The mural is a celebration of the strong female form, and
she's been working on it for the better part of the month with positive support
from local residents and passers by.

But Seattle has strange obscenity laws. The city has zero
issue with public works of art depicting full frontal nudity... as long as they
aren't attached to a strip club.

The original sketch approved by Deja Vu contained nipples
(they're part of the female form), but Seattle's obscenity ordinance prohibits
"lewd [and] sexually explicit matter... outside of [an] adult
entertainment establishment." Of course Deja Vu would prefer to keep the
nipples and honour the original intention of Crystal's vision. But the
definition of 'lewd' & 'sexually explicit' is subjective, and the language
in the ordinance is ambiguous enough that what began as an empowering art
installation could potentially shut down the business.

To avoid legal complications for her friends at Deja Vu,
Crystal has covered the nipples, but very much in protest, and the issue has
sparked a debate in Seattle's art community about what constitutes acceptable
PDA (Public Display of Art).

Thursday, September 1, 2016

If you need your art fix for the month of September (and I know I do!), here are some shows that you won't want to miss! Summer is drawing to a close, and the changing season is a perfect time to consider adding a fun new piece to your art collection!

Fun fact:Shakespeare did not mention September in any of his plays.

COMING UP:

The Pioneer Square Art Walk ~ Thursday, 1 September from 5-9pm. Selected shows: Acid Axiom - "Nuditeas" by Angelina Heyd.Acid Axiom is excited to have Angelina Heyd as our guest
artist for September's First Thursday Artwalk. This solo show features a series
of nude photography portraits along side custom tea blends created by the
artist herself.AXIS Pioneer Square - "Audio/Visual" grand opening of the new expansion! AXIS Pioneer Square is pleased to present “Audio/Visual”, a
group exhibition hosting Seattle artists from a variety of disciplines
collaborating to create a unique sensory experience. Focusing on the past and
present Seattle music community, Audio/Visual will showcase a diverse
representation of art, music, and visual performance. The show is sponsored by
Northwest Folklife, Seattle Acoustic Festival, and New Amsterdam Vodka with a
portion of proceeds benefitting Arts Corps. Three noted local artists Ryan
Henry Ward, Ten Hundred, and Wakuda will showcase their collaborations with
sculptor Katie Kurkjy and will also display their individual creations. Along
with visual art, the event will feature solo and collaborative performances by
some of the region’s most acclaimed musicians, including Daniel Blue
(Motopony), Andrew Joslyn (Macklemore) with Lerin Herzer, Tobias the Owl, and
others. Visual art, live music, live mural painting, and dance are all part of
this immersive Seattle sight and sound show. Opening reception also features
live painting by Joseph Brooks.Bon Voyage Vintage - Kelly Portfolio. Relishing the sweetness in life along with a pinch of
sauciness, Kelly draws what makes her happy. Idioms, play on words, burlesque
and food are the muses in her life.CoCA - Grand Opening Celebration in the TK Building! "Pity Title Here: 35 Years of CoCA"To celebrate the organization’s 35th anniversary and the
grand opening of the new space, Archivist Joel Irving, MLIS; Project Director
Anna R Hurwitz and Executyive Director, Nichole DeMent dug deep into the CoCA
Archives to create an exhibit featuring posters and images from CoCA’s creative
past. “Pithy Title Here: 35 Years of CoCA” includes recently discovered slides
capturing the 1982 installation of CoCA’s first exhibition featuring Turrel’s
“A Series of Light Installations;” the German industrial band Einstürzende
Neubauten on the CoCA stage in 1986 and a huge stack of Nam June Paik’s “Video
Babies” installed (with some controversy) at the newly built Broadway Market as
part of CoCA’s 1989 exhibition season. The poster exhibit features lots of
retro 80s and 90s graphical elements with original designs by local art legends
Art Chantry and Ellen Forney among many others. Gallery visitors will be able
to participate in the CoCA Archives Project by helping to identify audience,
artist and locations in dozens of unmarked slides. Is that you with that big
hair and leather jacket?Flatcolor Gallery - "Falling Anvil, Clear Blue Sky" by Matthew Zaremba & "A Real Person Standing in a Cartoon Room" by Nick ZarembaMethod Gallery - "Chaos Pattern Emergence" by Casey Curran.Casey Curran makes large scale innovative sculpture and
stage sets, often with multiple moving parts, and interactive qualities. In
Chaos, Pattern, Emergence, Curran presents new sculpture in which he explores
the space between the very vast and the very small; looking for patterns and
symmetry, teasing out reason for “why” plants grow, bodies die, and birds sing.Also check out new work at 4Culture,57 Biscayne,Abmeyer + Wood,Angle Gallery, Art Xchange, Artifact Gallery,The Belfry Oddities, Bonfire Gallery, Cafe Vita,Core Gallery, Davidson Galleries,Delicatus,Foster/White Gallery, Gallery 110,Gallery IMA, goCstudio, Greg Kucera Gallery,Hall Spassov Gallery, Huntington Media Gallery,James Harris Gallery,Kraken Congee,Linda Hodges Gallery,Mariane Ibrahim Gallery,Nord Alley & the Alley Network Project,Occidental Square Park, OK Gallery, Pioneer Square Saloon,The Piranha Shop,Platform Gallery,Punch, Room 104 Gallery, SAM Gallery, Seattle Artsource, Shift, SOIL, Stonington Gallery, Surface Theory, TK Artist Lofts,Treason Gallery, and more! Pioneer Square is the oldest art walk in the United States, and features over 50 galleries, studios, and other art spaces!

Frame Up Studios - John Hunter. This month at Frame Up studios in Fremont I will have a selection
of framed cosmos pieces. Several have been recently upgraded, framed and ready
for battle. Most are very reasonably priced and eager for new homes. I will be
there this Friday from 6-9 PM for the opening reception, stop by and see what's
happening.

"The 4th Annual Coaster Show!" at La Lux de Jesus Gallery in Los Angeles, CA. Opening reception: Friday, 2 September from 8-11pm. Show runs through 2 October. Featuring "Covered" by Mark Todd. Todd reinterprets comics from his youth, as well as earlier,
iconic ‘ultimate collectors items”. Most of the pieces in this show are based
on these types of desirable comics, such as number ones in the series, or the
first appearance of a character which were often unobtainable for a young,
comic obsessed Todd and his small weekly allowance. In Covered he keeps his
interpretations of these covers closer to the source than in previous shows,
channeling a combination of confidence with playful naivety, injecting humor with
purposeful “mistakes” such as misspelled text and truncated sentences. Also featuring nearly 1000 coasters-turned-art pieces by scores of artists from all over the country, including a few from Seattle! Check it out if you're in the LA area this month!

PAX West, Friday-Monday, 2-5 September, Downtown Seattle. In 2004, the folks at Penny Arcade decided they wanted a
show exclusively for gaming. Sure, comics, anime, and other nerd hobbies were
cool, and those activities all had their own shows… so what about games? From
that idea spawned a small 4,500 person event in Bellevue, Washington, focused
on the culture and community that is gaming. Since then, the show hasn’t looked
back. Doubling in size each year until venue capacities were reached, in 2010
the show expanded into Boston for PAX East, drawing tens of thousands of
attendees in the inaugural year. The shows in Seattle and Boston represent the
two largest gaming events in North America!

"Pokemon PAX Art Show" opening in conjunction with PAX West, Saturday, 3 September at Gamma Ray Games. Pokemon! Catch them all at Gamma Ray Games! Free event! Art
will be up for the whole month of September ♥! All art will be available to purchase off the wall. We will
also be dropping some special Pokemon pieces at poke stops all over Capitol
Hill! 17 total!! They will be free so you have to find them and get there first
if you can! Curated by Rhodora Jacob.

September at Bridge Productions: Dave Kennedy, "Anamorphosis". Opening reception, Wednesday, 7 September from 6-9pm. Bridge Productions is pleased to present Anamorphosis, in
which photographer and installation artist Dave Kennedy introduces new work,
continuing the investigation he began with The Likeliness of an Appearance. In
this series, Kennedy explores the illusory nature of objects and space using
photography, collage, and installation to play with ideas of identity, truth,
illusion, and perception.

The Capitol Hill Art Walk ~ Thursday, 8 September from 5-9pm. Selected shows:Chroma Clouds Gallery - "With/Without" by StefariGhost Gallery - "The Art of the Tarot" group show. Join us for this exciting group exhibit featuring local
& global Tarot Artists and Purveyors. Tarot, Oracle and Divination decks
will be on display, along with a selection of framed originals, prints,
giclees, etchings, vintage tarot cards and more. Live Tarot readings by Joyride
Tarot.In-Arts Collective - "Equal"This Capitol Hill Art Walk event, we focus on equality and
the challenge of the individual. Through masculinity, femininity, skin color,
class, weight, height and any other comparison, the heart of us is that we are
all equally people. Let's also not forget the numerical sense of the word.
We'll have pieces featured with beautiful mathematical anomalies, too!Mercury - "Transmission"Featured artist: TBA!Featured bellydance: TBA! Every month we bring you the best in Shoegaze, post-punk, post-rock and psych music with your host DJ Echo! You do not have to be a member for this night, and you do not need a member to sign you in. It is open to the public. No dress code. Free for members before 9.30pm, $5 for non-members. Starts at 9pm and goes til 2am. Retrofit Home - "Semi-Precious" group show (encore), featuring Angela prosper, Braden Duncan, Christine Olson, Claudio Duran, Jeff Farnam, Joey Brooks, John Milazzo, Matt Pritchett, Stearheadboy & Theydrift. Miniature works floated inside 'something larger', recycled materials.True Love Gallery- TBAVermillion - "Rebirth" by Yoona Lee, a show honouring Black Lives Matter. In Rebirth, visual artist and activist Yoona Lee creates a
meditative, liberational space by lining the gallery with realistic portraits
of 14 Black Lives Matter victims—from Michael Brown to Korryn Gaines—drawn in
white chalk. Each drawing is created using a composite of photos sourced online
to produce a more intimate, fleshed-out representation of the individual. At
one end of the gallery is an altar holding a vessel of water, a symbol of
purification and healing that is important to many black religious communities.
The water also acts as a threat to the chalk drawings, underscoring the
fragility of life and memory. However, portraiture has the ability to resurrect
lives; in this space it provides opportunities to revisit and reflect on the
countless lives lost to the police state. Vermillion is donating 10% of its
profits to Black Lives Matter; the artist is donating all her profits to Ending
the Prison Industrial Complex (EPIC) Seattle.Also check out new work at 12th Avenue Arts,Americana, Art Primo,Broadcast Coffee Roasters,Caffe Vita, Cafe Pettirosso, Calypte Gallery,Capitol Cider, Cloud Gallery,Cupcake Royale, Dendroica Gallery, Edie's Shoes,The Factory,Front Seat Gallery,High 5 Pie,Joe Bar,Kismet Salon,Laughing Buddha,Online Cafe, Paris Eastside, PCNW, Poco Wine + Spirits, Rubix Apartments,SAAM, Saint John's Bar,Saints Gallery,Steve Gilbert Photo Studio,SugarPill, The Pine Box, and more!

Twilight Gallery - Kate Petty, paintings. In my work I explore themes of transition and metamorphosis. I am drawn to organic shapes and processes but like structure and boundaries. My hope is to convey a kind of meaningful chaos where meticulousness meets uninhibited expression. Often my paintings reflect landscapes, emotional and otherwise, because the environment is so immediate and important for me. Having grown up in the Pacific Northwest, I feel deeply rooted here and grounded in this landscape, yet I have an intense restlessness to explore the unknown. While the natural world informs imagery, colors, and texture for me, feeling connected to the celestial and primordial worlds is what ultimately inspires me.

Echo Echo Gallery - The Echo Echo crew! It's still summer and time for September artwalk at Echo Echo. This month we will have tons to see and do, and artists eager to bring their wildest creations.This month's lineup:Claudio Duran, Jeff Farnum, Rhodora Jacob, John Hunter, Ronnie Taylor , Xavier Lopez Jr., and introducing our newest member Eva Yue Wang! We are excited to have Eva on the roster, and know you will like what she's bringing in this month. As usual we will have refreshments, music and plently of artsy fartsy antics, so come on down for some fun times while summer lasts.HappyTime Apocalypse - The HappyTime crew! Come party with the Happytime Apocalypse crew and our talented Guest Artist Stasia Burrington this Friday at the Greenwood Collective!Kolab Galery - 1 Year Anniversary Party! Join us for our 1 year anniversary at KOLAB gallery. Come out for September 9th for Art Walk at the Greenwood Collective. Enjoy beer, treats, the return of the Raffle Monster and an Original Art auction from our amazing artists. This month will also be the unveiling of our first "KOLAB" piece where each artist is creating a totem painting to be combined into one. Come help us celebrate and take home some amazing art too!KOLAB artists: Robert Bellm, Joshua Boulet, Melissa Crosetto, Travis Meloche, Mallory Milke, Megan Noel SmithUrban Light Studios- Opening Reception: Jordan Timlake. In this solo exhibition, Seattle-based artist and illustrator Jordan Timlake visually addresses the prevalent yet largely unspoken topic of domestic violence. Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women - more than car accidents, muggings, and rapes combined. The news is saturated with harrowing stories involving domestic violence and periodically the spotlight is focused on professional athletes and celebrities for being “caught” in an act of aggression towards their intimate partners. Unfortunately, as the sensationalism of a new tragedy fades, so do the discussions around domestic violence and its horrible repercussions. Domestic violence and intimate partner abuse are not singular incidents. The abuse continues due to deeply rooted cultural issues and the blanket of silence that suppresses the discussion. In the work presented, we look to explore themes of resiliency, strength, freedom, and growth. By giving voice to shared experiences we break the silent cycles of abuse and find healing power through the strength and support in community. A portion of proceeds raised from the event will be donated directly to victims of abuse through the efforts of New Beginnings, a non-profit organization working to empower survivors and mobilize community awareness and action to end domestic violence. Closing Reception:"Underpinnings"Check out new work at: Avanti Art & Design, Chocolatti, Gainsbourg, Home Suite Home, Naked City Brewery,School of Rock, The Space is Ours,Two Bird Tattoo, Warlock Labs, and more!

"Adream Artist lecture & Tour" on Friday, 9 September from 6-9pm. Opening Artist Adream presents his understanding of his art and the process behind this art collection on iconic figures that have changed the world.Adream creates bold, graphic compositions that riff on the Pop art and physics, traditional genres of portraiture and still life. Featured Artist Claudius Phaedrus, Dacia Ray, Tenhundred,Jimmy Geresen and Alex Achaval. Come spread the love around the City and watch as our Art Community grows as we stand strong together. I will be giving out Herban Legends apparel and have drawings for apparel and art! Enjoy a drink and snack before the weekend starts!Open arms and warmth!

"8th Annual Esoteric Book Conference", Saturday & Sunday, 10-11 Septemberat the William H Fogle Hall in the UW campus.The Esoteric Book Conference is an annual international event to bring together authors, artists, publishers and bookmakers working in the field of esotericism. In addition to presentations by notable authors and scholars, the conference opens it doors to publishers and booksellers showcasing new & used books as well as rare and hard-to-find esoteric texts. For two days the conference hosts the largest selection of esoteric books under one roof. Contemporary esoteric publishing, finepress book arts and antiquarian texts are offered to augment the libraries of readers, scholars and collectors alike. This multi-disciplined conference will feature presentations by contemporary authorities researching and working in esoteric currents both East & West. Western Esotericism, Gnosticism, Theosophy, Mythology, Shamanism, Rosicrucianism, Sacred Sciences, Occulture and World Religions are among the subjects to be represented. An esoteric book fair and art show will also be on site allowing education, vending and networking in a unique field of literary, historical and cultural arts. This conference offers several opportunities for promotion, networking and exhibition for publishers, authors and artists who work in the esoteric publishing field. There will be two days of presentations wherein authors and scholars may present lectures as well as a book fair with scheduled book signings.

"2nd Saturdays at TK Hall Collective" ~ The 2nd Saturday of every month from noon-5pm at the TK Artist Loft building in Pioneer Square. With the revitalised success of the Pioneer Square 1st Thursday Art Walk, several of the working studios at the Tashiro/Kaplan Building have collectively decided to add a new tradition by also opening our doors to the public on the second Saturday of every month from noon to 5 pm. Participating studios:306 S Washington St. (#101 - Ellen Hoch Berg, #103 - Studio 103, #104 - Juan Alonso, #105 - Joanna Morgan Designs)312 S Washington St. (#2B - Barbara Noonin, #C - Jody Joldersma)

The Georgetown Art Attack ~ Saturday,9 April from 6-9pm. IMPORTANT NOTE TO THOSE ATTENDING THE ART WALK! Parking on site is pay only. Please be sure to either park on the street or in a pay lot on either end of the building. Building management will ticket cars improperly parked. Selected shows:

Krab Jab Studio - "Femina Mystica" with Bud Cook, mark Poole & David Gray. Three paintersworked together under the theme of the Feminine Mystique. Both Mark and Bud are from an illustration background and David comes from the world of realism. The work created for "Femina Mystica" addresses the female form and the relationship with her surroundings, often fantastical and otherworldly. Whether thoughtful, lonely, or nostalgic, all three artists address their subject matter with grace and reflection. Artist Talk at 7:30 pm with all three artists in attendance.

"Natural Drawing" with Seb Barnett, Sundays from 1-4pm starting 11 September. In this class we will explore basic drawing techniques from light and shadow, reflections, the nature of form and weight. We will cover techniques for drawing from life and photos, traditional and contemporary. Drawing with graphite pencils and charcoal, we will explore blending, crosshatching, and how lines can capture light, dark, and shape and weight! Anyone who takes this class will learn the skills necessary for drawing not only realism based imagery, but also drawing the sense of life and movement in the natural world.

"Neddy Artist Awards: 20 Years" at Pivot Art + Culture, Thursday, 15 September from 6.30-8.30pm. Join us in toasting all the 2016 Neddy finalists and winners. Enjoy a look at the 20 year history of the Neddy Artist Awards including pieces from Victoria Haven, Jeffry Mitchell, and Akio Takamori, among other past Neddy winners.

Gargoyles Statuary - "Medieval Musings" by Lis Wright Ivec. Original paintings, pastels, tapestries, prints, custom votives, and more~all in Lis's classic style with a medieval & gothic twist! Please join us to celebrate Lis's new work and learn more about her unique techniques!

"Sessions of She: September Showcase" at The Rendezvous, Saturday, 17 September from 3.30-5pm. Sessions of She brings creative women, and their fans, together across artistic genres. Please join us for an afternoon of art, comedy, music, and community... with live performances and on-stage interviews. We'd love your company. Our Mission: To captivate listeners with engaging and compelling dialogue, showcasing the personalities and perseverance of creative women in the industry. Hosted by Missy Lacy and Taryn Dorsey. This month's feaured guests: Art by Kassandra Davis, Comedy by Christan Leonard, Music by Brenda Xu.

The SAAM is currently featuring:"GOLD: Japanese Art from the Collection" (9 April - 9 October 2016). The Golden Pavilion, gold tea house, golden Buddha hall, golden screens, a kimono embroidered with gold thread, lacquerware decorated with gold—the list goes on. Gold has long been used as a luxurious material for architectural features, sculpture, painting, textiles, and many other forms in Japanese art. Universally coveted for its rich color and enduring value, it has come to symbolize power, strength, wealth, eternity, and religious sanctity. Experience a gallery gleaming with all that glitters—gold. The pieces on view have been selected from the museum’s Japanese collection, which provide a glimpse of exceptional and varied works that utilize gold, including Buddhist paintings, shrines and accoutrements, monk’s robes and temple runners—which all demonstrate gold’s sacred symbolism in Buddhism; while gold leaf on paintings, gold decorations on lacquer boxes and inro, and gold threads in kimono and obi, all impart a luminous layer to the artworks.

The SAMis currently featuring:"Big Picture: Art After 1945" (23 July - Ongoing). In the decades following World War II, New York emerged as a new center of contemporary art in the Western hemisphere, eclipsing Paris in importance. It was a moment of bold beginnings. The gestural painting styles that developed in the United States in the late 1940s and ‘50s had unprecedented explosive energy and grew out of an experimentation with painting as an expression of the subconscious. These were the landmark beginnings of abstract expressionism and its concurrent artistic movements—from intense fields of color, to minimal manipulation of surface and texture, to artists learning from dance and movement and examining the everyday."Go Tell It: Civil Rights Photography" (30 April 2016 - 2 January 2017, 3rd Floor Galleries). The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s saw major gains in the struggle to end segregation and discrimination against African Americans, as well as many other marginalized groups, including Native Americans, homosexuals, and women. While landmark pieces of legislation during that decade officially outlawed racial discrimination, the realities of social and institutional inequity continued well past these watershed years—and the "foot soldiers" of the movement continued their efforts to confront them. This exhibition features major works from the collection by artists including Dan Budnik, Danny Lyon, Roy deCarava, Robert Frank, Gary Winogrand, Marion Post Wolcott, and others. Whether capturing the inequalities of Jim Crow-era segregation, documenting keystone moments and leaders of the movement, or exposing the racial injustices that continued long after desegregation, these artists used documentary photography as a tool for activism and to bear witness to the battle for equality. "Terratopia: The Chinese Landscape in Painting & Film" (2 July 2016 - 26 February 2017, Foster Galleries). Majestic landscapes are metaphors for human emotion in Chinese art. They evoke melancholy and disquiet. They express elation or resolve. They record memory and history. Images of the wilderness, pure and pristine, offer a mental refuge and represent real or imagined places with powerful cultural, historical, and religious associations. Some works envision man’s place in the cosmos, depicting sacred mountains as a paradise between heaven and earth. Pictures of villas or garden estates express a desire for reclusion and allow busy viewers to imagine themselves at leisure in the countryside, or to fancy themselves as hermits.

Bainbridge Island Museum of Art is currently featuring:"Artist's Books: Chapter 8, Everything - Including the Kitchen Sink" (1 June - 25 September 2016). Curated by and from the collection of BIMA Founder Cynthia Sears. Artist's books are infinitely varied!"Heaven on Fire" by Barbara Earl Thomas (25 June - 9 October 2016). Bainbridge Island Museum of Artis proud to present Heaven on Fire, a survey of over 60artworks by Barbara Earl Thomas, with work spanning from the early 1980s to present. Included in this exhibition are paintings, prints, glass sculpture, paper cuts, and a site-specific installation including the artist’s writings.

Gage Academy of Artis currently featuring:"Drink & Draw" every 1st Friday from 7-9pm. Each session is based on a theme – a costumed model, still life arrangements, music, videos and more. We’ll provide the drawing materials for free – or just have a cocktail or glass of wine and watch the artists work! No formal instruction is provided, no host bar. Ages 21+ only, please. $10 at the door.

The Frye Art Museum is currently featuring: "Chronicles of Solitude: Masterworks by Vilhelm Hammershøi from SMK - The National Gallery of Denmark" (16 July - 25 September 2016). The Frye Art Museum is honored to present masterworks by Vilhelm Hammershøi, one of Denmark's most distinguished Symbolist painters, on the one hundredth anniversary of his death. A master of atmospheric and psychological interiors, Hammershøi (1864–1916) was admired by his contemporaries in Europe and the United States including German poet and art critic Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926) and American artist John Singer Sargent (1856–1925). In 1889, Hammershøi was awarded a medal at the Exposition Universelle in Paris, and his work was recognized with the Grand Prize at the International Exhibition in Rome in 1911. In 1909, on the occasion of his participation in the Tenth International Exhibition of the Munich Künstlergenossenschaft (Artists' Association), German critic Georg Biermann described Hammershøi as a “modern Nordic Vermeer.”

With this much going on, you couldn't possibly complain that there's nothing to do in Seattle!